"I understand that they have to learn about other religions. I can live with that but it is taking it a step too far to be punished because they wouldn't join in Muslim prayer.

"Making them pray to Allah, who isn't who they worship, is wrong and what got me is that they were told they were being disrespectful.

"I don't want this to look as if I have a problem with the school because I am generally very happy with it."

Another parent Karen Williams said: "I am absolutely furious my daughter was made to take part in it and I don't find it acceptable.

"I haven't got a problem with them teaching my child other religions and a small amount of information doesn't do any harm.

"But not only did they have to pray, the teacher had gone into the class and made them watch a short film and then said 'we are now going out to pray to Allah'.

"Then two boys got detention and all the other children missed their refreshment break because of the teacher.

"Not only was it forced upon them, my daughter was told off for not doing it right.

"They'd never done it before and they were supposed to do it in another language."

"My child has been forced to pray to Allah in a school lesson." The grandfather of one of the pupils in the class said: "It's absolutely disgusting, there's no other way of putting it.

"My daughter and a lot of other mothers are furious about their children being made to kneel on the floor and pray to Islam. If they didn't do it they were given detention.

"I am not racist, I've been friendly with an Indian for 30 years. I've also been to a Muslim wedding where it was explained to me that alcohol would not be served and I respected that.

"But if Muslims were asked to go to church on Sunday and take Holy Communion there would be war."

Parents said that their children were made to bend down on their knees on prayer mats which the RE teacher had got out of her cupboard and they were also told to wear Islamic headgear during the lesson on Tuesday afternoon.

Deputy headmaster Keith Plant said: "It's difficult to know at the moment whether this was part of the curriculum or not. I am not an RE teacher, I am an English teacher.

"At the moment it is our enterprise week and many of our members of staff are away.

"The particular member of staff you need to speak to isn't around. I think that it is a shame that so many parents have got in touch with the Press before coming to me.

"I have spoken to the teacher and she has articulately given me her version of events, but that is all I can give you at the moment."

A statement from Cheshire County Council on behalf of the school read: "The headteacher David Black contacted this authority immediately complaints were received.

"Enquiries are being made into the circumstances as a matter of urgency and all parents will be informed accordingly.

"Educating children in the beliefs of different faith is part of the diversity curriculum on the basis that knowledge is essential to understanding.

"We accept that such teaching is to be conducted with some sense of sensitivity."

Let's get it started raw! Is this the reason prayer was taken out of school? We only pray to God and mostly through Jesus. The Jews do not recognize Jesus and the Indians pray to Allah. Where do we go from here? How do we please everyone?

Indians don't pray to Allah, they are polytheistic for the most part. Pakistanis are usually Muslim.

In the US, we have a written constitution that makes such state-ordered activities illegal. The idea behind the 1st amendment is that the state shall neither force a religion on you nor stop you from practicing one. I assume by many of the references that this happened in the UK? Lord help you guys.

I'm not usually politically inclined by nature, but this irks the SH!T out of me! I don't believe for one second that "they" have migrated (infiltrated actually) to non-muslim countries U.S., U.K., etc., wihout the sole purpose of ruining our way of life. Only one way to treat this disease!

This happens here in the USA more often than we ever hear, Portland OR for example, where they banned the pledge. It does happen, it is high time we started doing something about it rather than just deny whats coming. Like the name of the thread says.....

One flaw in what slowdp preaches Jesus was a Jew. I guess that would make all of us that follow him Jews as well. Of course that would also mean that we all pray to the same god. The father of the Hebrew Religion And the father of the Muslim Religion Is Abraham. I have read both the Torah and the Koran as well as the King James version of the Bible. Before you Me for the record I am Roman Catholic And have two religious awards from the Vatican one is Ad Alteri Dei the other is the Pope Pious medal. I don't like Islam I think it has perverted the teachings of god. Just my oppinion.
Joe goldberg

I guess we're all missing the boat here.....from all of my education, in PUBLIC SCHOOLs, back when we had to say the Pledge of Allegiance and pray THE LORD's prayer, this still enforced the teachings that this GREAT NATION was founded by men and women of a Christian faith. They went on to establish this GREAT NATION as ONE NATION UNDER GOD. That tells me that it was the living God of creation, Father of Jesus and Holy Spirit. It had to be their belief of the same God I worship.

Take a look at this country now - the highest rate in abortion, illiteracy and crime. Thanks to our courts, lawyers and politicians, they've managed to remove the true living God from our schools and replaced it with the garbage as mentioned in the strings above. That's acceptable for our students to be forced to discuss and listen to other "ideas", but can not mention God in public without discipline. We will be allowed to do / say anything as long it does not involve God / Christianity.

I hope all of those in our court systems, political offices and positions of great responsibility realize that eventually they will have to answer to God the Almighty for what they've done with their talents!! As His word says (paraphrased), "to him that much is given, much is expected.."

BUT, this is NOT a Christian country. Sorry. Other folks live and pay lots of taxes and shoot here.

When you can post ONE mention of Jesus in the official documents that are the foundation of this country please let us know. This is a country founded by deists. They were VERY VERY careful not to frame anything in the context of Jesus or ANY religion. They may have had different personal beliefs, but the words that count dont agree with you.

BTW "over the hill", which VERSION of the Bible do you read? The Torah is the word of God. Unaltered and unedited and hand copied for over 4000 years. Your Bible has been edited many many times, to suit the needs of the times. Just the facts.

The U.S. Constitution is a wholly secular document. It contains no mention of Christianity or Jesus Christ. In fact, the Constitution refers to religion only twice in the First Amendment, which bars laws "respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," and in Article VI, which prohibits "religious tests" for public office. Both of these provisions are evidence that the country was not founded as officially Christian.